UB WINS 2025 WNIT CHAMPIONSHIP IN FRONT OF RECORD SELL-OUT CROWD
Alumni Arena was sold out, wall to wall to the top row of the 300 level, with over 5,600 fans in attendance to see the UB Women’s Basketball team defeat Troy in the 2025 WNIT Postseason Championship.
The Bulls used the roar of the crowd to jump out to a 6-0 lead to open the game, before Troy came charging back. Buffalo led 12-11 just under four minutes into the game, but once that lead vanished, the Trojans were in control till late in the fourth quarter. Trailing by as many as fourteen points, Buffalo battled back, slowly but surely, and chipped into the deficit.
An old-fashioned three-point play for Sophomore guard Kirsten Lewis-Williams tied the game at 80 with under four minutes left. Senior guard Terah Harness, who had hit a three-pointer to tie the game at 64 earlier in the 4th quarter, was left open at the left arc and knocked down her fourth made triple of the night, giving Buffalo the lead at 83-81 with just under three minutes to play. The record-setting crowd was on its feet, with enthusiasm in volume equal to the humidity and temperature felt in the at-capacity building.
Senior forward Jordyn Beaty made the biggest play of her collegiate career one minute later, defensively matched up with Troy’s point guard atop the Buffalo key, Beaty poked it free, stole possession and went coast-to-coast for a layup, extending the Bulls’ lead to 85-81. After back-and-forth foul shot attempts, Buffalo had to defend an 87-84 lead with :18 left in the game. Troy chose to attack Lewis-Williams in the paint, but the UB sophomore stole it away, leading to her game-sealing free throw. With the team embracing as one, the final buzzer rang, and the crowd bellowed, and Buffalo was crowned WNIT Champions, 88-84, they defeated Troy in the title game.
5th year guard Chellia Watson, who led the way for all scorers with 23 points, was the first to lift the Championship trophy, followed by Gowanda native and star point guard Noelani Cornfield. The Lake Shore High School grad ended her collegiate career with her third double double of the year, recording 15 points and 11 assists. Cornfield finished the season with 212 total assists, which is the second most in a single season in UB Women’s Basketball history.
The 2024-25 Bulls set new program records for overall wins with 30, home wins with 18, after beginning the season with the best start in program history with 12 straight wins. Becky Burke, who got to cut her first championship net down as a Head Coach, will forever be immortalized with this team, as just the second MAC school to ever win the WNIT Championship, and the first in UB history.
ALEX OVECHKIN BREAKS WAYNE GRETZKY’S ALL TIME NHL GOAL RECORD
Speaking of records that were broken over the weekend… Yesterday, Alexander Ovechkin became the National Hockey League’s all time leading scorer with his 895th career goal. The 39-year-old Russian ripped a snapshot past his country-mate Ilya Sorokin of the New York Islanders, seven and a half minutes into the second period to cement himself atop the mountain in NHL history. Funny enough, it was the first goal Ovechkin has ever scored on Sorokin, despite being divisional opponents.
Wayne Gretzky, who had held the record since 1994, was in attendance and was on the ice to congratulate Ovechkin firsthand on passing him in the history books.
The footnote, until someone else comes along to break Ovi’s record, is that Washington lost this game 4-1, with the Islanders needing the win as part of their push for a playoff spot.
THOMPSON SURPASSES FORTY GOALS AS SABRES SWEEP WEEKEND BACK-TO-BACK
While they are technically still alive in the playoff race, the Buffalo Sabres have now won seven of their last eight games, after defeating Tampa Bay and Boston over the weekend.
On Saturday night, the Sabres hung with the Lightning all game long thanks to a 22-save performance from James Reimer, to defeat Tampa Bay 3-2 in a shootout. Tage Thompson netted his fortieth goal of the season to tie the game at one in the first. Then, during the second period, Jason Zucker’s 20th goal of the campaign knotted the game at 2 on the power play. Jack Quinn and Alex Tuch sent the hometown crowd pleased with the lone two goals in the shootout.
Last night, the Sabres swapped their black and red alternate uniforms for the more traditional royal blue home kits, as they rallied to defeat the Boston Bruins, 6-3. After Ukko-Pekka Luukkonen allowed two first period goals, the Sabres turned to their latest 40-goal scorer to get them back into the game. Tage Thompson proceeded to get Buffalo on the board, trailing 2-1 with over thirteen minutes left in the second. Alex Tuch notched his 33rd goal of the season to tie things at 2. Former Sabre Casey Mittelstadt scored for Boston on the power play to give the visitors the lead once more, 3-2, but that was the final lead they’d hold.
Sabres captain Rasmus Dahlin displayed patience and craftiness to tie the game at 3 with just under ninety seconds left in the second. Finally, flying out of the gates, Buffalo dominated the third period, with Zucker giving the Sabres a 4-3 lead less than two minutes into the last frame, and two Tage Thompson tallies to complete the hat trick and seal the victory for Buffalo.
The Sabres are still mathematically not eliminated from playoff contention with six games left to play, thanks to wins in seven of their last eight games. Buffalo is back at home Wednesday night for a battle with the Carolina Hurricanes.
PAIGE BUECKERS AND UCONN CLAIM NCAA CHAMPIONSHIP
It’s been quite the whirlwind for the Connecticut Huskies and one of the nation’s brightest young basketball stars, but Paige Bueckers capped off her historic five-year career with a National Championship on Sunday.
Bueckers and the Huskies women’s basketball team defeated #1 seeded South Carolina 82-59 in the NCAA Division I Championship Game. The UConn defense was stellar, holding the SC starting lineup to a combined 24 points. It’s the 12th National Championship in the history of UConn women’s basketball, a record number for Head Coach Geno Auriemma, who is the winningest college coach of all time, for men’s or women’s hoops, with two more rings than John Wooden's 10 with UCLA.
FNL FLAG FOOTBALL - WEEK 1 RECAP: LEEDERMAN LEADS PIONEER TO SHUTOUT IN OVER SWEET HOME IN SEASON OPENER
Friday Night Lights returned to action last week, and what a treat it was to see the Pioneer Panthers flag football team display exactly why they were undefeated in Section VI last year and are clearly well on their way to perhaps repeating that feat this season. Pioneer defeated Sweet Home 45-0 in the season opener.
Pioneer junior running back Jayden Leederman was the star of the show, rushing for a total of four touchdowns, lifting her Panthers to victory.
FNL heads down to Jamestown this week, when the Red and Green host Fredonia.
BANDITS PICK UP BOUNCE-BACK WIN ON THE ROAD
The Buffalo Bandits snapped their two-game losing streak with a solid, 15-10 win at Colorado on Saturday night.
In command from the start, Buffalo never trailed, despite the Mammoth tying the game twice during the third quarter. Ian MacKay and Kyle Buchanen each notched a hat trick for the Bandits, but both were overshadowed by goalie Matt Vinc. The 42-year-old goalie wound up and released a perfect shot into the empty Colorado goal all the way down the floor, hitting the back of the twine to score his second career goal. It was the nail in the coffin for a 15-10 Buffalo win.
With the victory, the Bandits secure home floor advantage for the first round of the NLL playoffs, while sitting atop the league standings for another week. Buffalo (12-4) hosts Halifax (10-6) on Saturday night for the final home game of the regular season.
BISONS WEEKEND RECAP
Weather was not great for baseball over the weekend in Memphis, where the Buffalo Bisons were only able to play two games since last we spoke, dropping both of the twin bill on Friday, 4-1 in the first game, 3-1 in the second. Both games scheduled for Saturday and Sunday were eventually cancelled due to the poor weather.
The Bisons, now 1-5 to start the year, host the Durham Bulls for a six game series in Buffalo starting tomorrow night at 6PM.
The Scoreboard is presented by Zenner and Ritter Heating and Cooling.
